My friend Steve Schippert points out that the $600 million President Obama has finally provided for the defense of Americans at the southern border is considerably less than the $900 million Obama redistribu — er, I mean, provided to Gaza in one of the early acts of his presidency. Gaza is (and was then) controlled by Hamas, which has been formally designated a terrorist organization under U.S. law for about 15 years. That is, if you tried to give money to Hamas, or tried to give money to someone else under circumstances where you knew it would end up benefitting Hamas, you would be committing a crime (material support to terrorism) for which you could be sent to prison for 15 years. Yet, the Obama administration gives 50 percent more money to Hamas than it forks up for border security . . . even as it prepares to sue Arizona for enforcing immigration laws the feds won't enforce. Change you can believe in.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Due to SUMMER, daily round-ups will be not so daily. I'll do my best but promise nothing. I'm a stay-at-home mom with two kids under 10 so they must have my attention now. Still, I'll try to ditch 'em every now and again.

BP is, in all likelihood, chiefly responsible for this disaster. At the same time, the Obama administration’s habit of dragging CEOs before Congress can certainly be seen as pattern of highly calculated government shakedowns.

Just ask Mr. Toyoda. Or the CEO of Humana, who was investigated by the administration, because his company warned customers about the pitfalls of ObamaCare. Or the former CEO of GM who has forced to resign by the administration. A pattern is clearly emerging

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. shed 2.3 million jobs since February 2009, Obama’s first full month in office. Going back to World War II, that is by far the worst record for any president in his first 17 months, outpacing the job destruction experienced in the early Bush years by more than 800,000 jobs.

For Obama, there is an even worse way to play the data, which might just become fodder for a political ad: From November 2008, the month he was elected, until now, the economy has shed an astonishing 4.4 million jobs. That’s worse than Hoover.

Sure, you can blame the first few months of that period on lame-duck President Bush. But perhaps companies accelerated their shedding of jobs because they were bracing for higher tax rates, increased union power and costly environmental taxes under Obama.

Other measurements are only slightly kinder to Obama. The two-percentage-point increase in unemployment rate during his presidency, to 9.7 percent from 7.7 percent, is the third-worst since World War II. Dwight Eisenhower and Gerald Ford saw bigger increases.

GDP growth under Obama, an abysmal 3 percentage points so far, is the fourth-worst in the postwar period. Eisenhower, Ford and Ronald Reagan all began their terms with worse GDP growth.

Five years ago, in the midst of another crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, the Bush administration waived the Jones Act, easing the way for foreign vessels to move in U.S. waters and between ports. The decision came with the administration under duress for its handling of Hurricane Katrina.

Today the Obama administration faces a different set of challenges with the Gulf oil spill cleanup.

But unlike his predecessor, President Obama has declined to suspend the law, even temporarily.

Obama's decision has turned into a public relations headache for an administration already reeling from its oversight of the oil spill. European allies, longtime opponents of the Jones Act, have asserted they were turned away when making offers of assistance. The State Department acknowledges it has had 21 aid offers from 17 countries.

Greens: Apologize to High-Yield Farmers!Studies show that modern farming techniques — reviled by environmentalists — not only saved billions from starvation, but are tremendously more eco-friendly than "organic" farming practices.

Good Riddance. Interesting use of the word "idealism" however. Rahm Emanuel expected to quit White House. Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, is expected to leave his job later this year after growing tired of the "idealism" of Barack Obama's inner circle.

Don't they have better things to do what with the economy, the gulf, the wars, the joblessness, the EVERYTHING than give parenting tips like "don't waste water"? Don't waste my time as well as my money, you useless wastes of air. Fatherhood.gov

Sunday, June 20, 2010

According to this story via Yahoo and the Wall Street Journal - End Is Seen to Free Checking - Bank of America and other major banks are considering setting up new rules in order to squeeze more money in fees from its customers in order to make up for lost income due to new government banking regulations.

I'd like to make a couple of notes. First, while the banks are jerks for doing this, it is government interference which is screwing We, The People, over the most. Regulations are not cost-free as most politicians seem to believe but extraordinarily expensive meddling by politicians into our personal lives.

Second, banks are not the only place to store your money. Credit Unions which are non-profit financial entities that offer just about all the services your average bank does (as far as the average consumer is concerned) but operates for the benefit of its members which means decent interest paid on savings (and sometimes checking), low fees, and many other benefits all while covered by FDIC insurance. I've been a credit union member for years and years precisely because the big banks suck so much.

Finally, during the worst of the financial crisis, my credit union was advertising that it had millions to loan. The smaller banks and credit unions have weathered the storm precisely because they didn't meddle about with investment banking nonsense. Why should bank customers pay for the greed of a large bank's corporate decisions?

So this piece is to remind all financial customers that you do not have to stay with your big corporate bank which is now actively looking to suck you dry with multiple bank fees, check out your local credit unions. Chances are there is one you can join. You are not a trapped customer but a consumer free to shop around for what best fits your financial needs.

What best fits my financial needs if a nonprofit banking entity that doesn't attempt to nickel and dime my banking accounts dry so they can pay for their negligence and risky behavior.